Wed, 06/01/2011 - 15:12

Churchill Downs: Artistides lineup looks extremely strong

Churchill Downs/ Reed Palmer Photography
Here Comes Ben, winning the Kelly's Landing at Churchill Downs, returns as part of a solid lineup of older sprinters in Saturday's Aristides.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Quite a few of the most accomplished sprinters in the Midwest will clash at Churchill Downs when an exciting 23rd running of the Aristides is held as one of two Grade 3, $100,000 races on an 11-race Saturday program.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 15:10

Emerald Downs: Mirror Pond tries again at two turns

AUBURN, Wash. – Mirror Pond and Chilecito headline the feature race Friday at Emerald Downs, a $10,000 claimer for fillies and mares at one mile. The eight-race card begins at 6 p.m. Pacific, kicking off a relatively quiet weekend at the suburban Seattle track. Emerald’s next stakes race, the Washington State Legislators, is set for June 12, a week from Sunday.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 14:36

Woodbine: England taking a shot in Nassau

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ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Trainer Deborah England knows she’ll be taking on some big guns here in Sunday’s Grade 2, $300,000 Nassau Stakes.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 14:25

Belmont: Ava K. may be cut above rest in Wandering Cloud

ELMONT, N.Y. – In a match-up likely to separate contenders from pretenders among 3-year-old New York-bred filly sprinters, Ava K., Miss Valentine, Sentimental Lass, and Yawkey Way clash in Friday’s $60,000 Wandering Cloud overnight stakes at Belmont Park.

Those four are stakes winners who carry 122 pounds under the allowance conditions of the 6 1/2-furlong race, giving four pounds to Fortheloveof Anna and Hot Danger.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 14:13

Monmouth Park lease agreement close but not done deal

Negotiations over a lease of Monmouth Park in New Jersey remained open on Wednesday, a state-imposed deadline, but the lack of an agreement is not expected to impact the track’s current race meet in any way, according to Morris Bailey, the New Jersey horseman and real estate developer who is seeking to lease the track from the state for the next five years.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 14:08

Louisiana Downs: Nicks heats up with the weather

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Morris Nicks is heating up just like the weather at Louisiana Downs.

As the mercury creeps up toward triple digits in northern Louisiana earlier than usual this summer, Nicks has had a run of victories that finds him atop the trainer standings with eight winners from just 24 starters during the first month of the meeting.

“It does make things go easier,” Nicks said during training hours Monday. “It is always nice to win races.”

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 14:00

Assiniboia: Kommando Kate looks too good

Kommando Kate looms as a prohibitive choice when Assiniboia Downs kicks off its 2011 stakes schedule on Friday with the $25,000 Hazel Wright for Manitoba-bred 3-year-old fillies at six furlongs.

A total of 28 stakes worth an aggregate $970,000 will be offered at the meeting, with the highlight being the Manitoba Lotteries Derby, which recently had its purse reinstated to $75,000 after Assiniboia Downs restructured an agreement with the provincial government on its share of revenue from on-site video lottery terminals.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 13:42

Calder: Collazo heats up after cold winter at Gulfstream

MIAMI – Like most Calder-based trainers, Henry Collazo struggled through the winter at Gulfstream Park. But once the current meet opened in late April, things suddenly began looking up for many of the local horsemen in general and Collazo in particular.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 13:22

Woodbine: Rahy's Attorney tunes up for Singspiel

Michael Burns
Rahy's Attorney, shown winning the King Edward at Woodbine, is being pointed to the 1 1/2-mile Singspiel on June 26.

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Rahy’s Attorney is not only still going strong at age 7 but appears to have reinvented himself as a long-distance turf runner this season.

On Friday, Rahy’s Attorney will be looking to strut his stuff over Woodbine’s turf course for the first time in 2011 as the probable favorite in a field of eight plus one also-eligible for the allowance prep for the Singspiel Stakes.

Wed, 06/01/2011 - 13:02

Belmont Stakes: If first seven Derby finishers start, it will be a record

Barbara D. Livingston
Mucho Macho Man will get a new rider, Ramon Dominguez, for the June 11 Belmont Stakes.

Animal Kingdom, Nehro, Mucho Macho Man, Shackleford, Master of Hounds, Santiva, and Brilliant Speed were the first seven across the wire in the Kentucky Derby on May 7, and if all come back, as now scheduled, on June 11 in the Belmont Stakes at Belmont Park, it will mark the first time ever that the first seven finishers in the Derby also competed in the Belmont Stakes.